


What We Leave Unsaid

by HaloMimi



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 02:51:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaloMimi/pseuds/HaloMimi
Summary: She was only being selfish.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My attempt to write for Kite because he's an awesome character and needs more love. Hopefully I didn't entirely butcher his character.

    Seeing his shoulders shake ever so slightly, his lips tremble, and that single shimmering tear run down his cheek made her understand. No matter how tough and aloof he pretended to be Kite was actually kind and gentle. For a few seconds she remained frozen as the realization sank in. Then a couple of things started to click in her brain; but first and foremost she sank to the floor next to him. Before he could turn away from her she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Trying to find proper words of comfort her mouth opens and closes in vain until she understands that there are no words to say. 

    So she holds him tighter. Kite is still in her arms, his only movements are the heaving breaths as he holds back his sobs. Hands finally grip the fabric on her back but she tries not to startle. Pushing her away seemed more of a Kite like reaction. Not to mention the pain that comes with that simple touch isn't normal. They remain intertwined for some more silent seconds. Patting his head and rubbing his back doesn't seem to be much but it's all she can do. 

 

    Time passes but she doesn't know how much of it. At some point they sank into the ground still tangled together. She assumes that was when the animals also crowded around. Which resulted in the heap of fur she was currently nestled in. Though she couldn't quite remember when she fell asleep. Either way she was still half wrapped around Kite. Question was what to do? Come morning there was a possibility he would return to his usual aloof demeanor so perhaps it would be best to untangle herself from the heap and sleep in her usual spot. Trying to minimize the movement needed she tries to turn, but as her hand leaves its spot Kite grips it. Her movements still and her eyes squint in the darkness. Was he asleep? 

    "...no helping it then." She shifts closer to him and throws her other hand on his torso. The grip on her hand is still tight as she laces her fingers with his. Yup, Kite wasn't as cold as he pretended to be. 

~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~`~``~``~``~``~

      Taking off the shoes had been easy. She just pulled them off and tucked them into the small crevice near the broken rock. Pulling on her old pink shorts was a nightmare. Finally pulling her left leg through she lost her balance and fell to the ground. As if the world wasn't spinning enough already. The cold from the ground makes her shiver. Raising herself takes more effort than it should but she does it all the same. Adjusting the old tattered shorts and top she takes a final glance around the old sewer. It had been home for a good while but now it was time for her to go. 

    "Bye-bye." She waves her final goodbye to the horse and the other animals as she leaves. Well more like stumbles her way into the forest. Despite the fever clouding her judgement she somewhat remembers the trails and shortcuts Kite showed her before. Slowly she makes her way deeper inside the forest to the place she picked out. 

    The idea came to her when Nani got sick. The old black cat once wandered away from the sewer even going so far as to claw her arms when she tried to carry it back in. Kite explained that sometimes animals would wander away from their home when they were sick and ready to die. Thankfully the old moody cat had recovered soon after. Pochi however, hadn't been so lucky. 

    She passes the grove but keeps walking. By then her knees are scraped and caked with dirt from all the times she's tripped. Kite taught her which trees were safe to lean on and which ones to avoid touching but she can't remember at the moment. Uncontrollable shivers run down her body making her stop in place. The shade feels so dreadfully cold and she can feel her teeth rattle. But she grits them and trudges on. This wasn't the right place. It was too close to the sewer and he would find her in no time.   
    The next couple of steps are pure agony so she has to remind herself why she's doing this in the first place. As much as she hated to admit it street life just wasn't for her. Worrying every day about the next meal wasn't so bad, but the lecherous men that would tear her apart with a single chance were impossible. Finding Kite had been a heaven sent miracle. Although this wasn't an act of kindness per say, in a way she was being more selfish than kind. 

    The rocks feel warm then hot beneath her feet. Just a bit further and she's finally done. Maybe if her fever had gone down, or if her wound hadn't gotten infected then she would've stayed. The deciding factor, if it could called that, was Pochi's death. The street veteran Kite had finally shown a chink in his armor. Whether he wanted or not he was attached to the animals and maybe, just maybe, Kite was attached to her. At least a little.... She thinks.  
    Carefully she sinks down and tries to crawl her way down into the ravine. The rocks have something else in mind however. One of them slips out of her grip and she slips down to the bottom. It's not a long fall but it leaves her sore and hurting. Good enough she thinks, the spot she ended up in was warm at least. So she curls into a ball and sleeps. Hopefully by nightfall she would be gone. 

    This isn't kindness. _'Kite will be better off not seeing me die.' 'It's not as if he could afford medicine anyways.'_ They're simply excuses to ease her guilt because she's actually being quite selfish. What she's trying to escape from is the attachment. Before they can become too close and dependent on each other she wants to sever the small thread. What she fears more than anything is the future. There are too many uncertainties, what if Kite is the one who dies eventually? What if he actually does get sick of her and kicks her out? What if, those two words are the constant bane she carries. Living is actually harder than dying. With everything now completely open she knows that she's simply taking the easy way out. 

 

`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

 

    The animals are unsettled when he returns. Finding the cause doesn't take him long. (F/n) is nowhere to be seen, though rare there occasions when he would return and she wasn't there. Usually she was late from washing herself or the cloths. This time seems different though aside from the animals there's an unease in his chest. Something isn't right, he doesn't know what but something feels wrong. He puts the food down when he sees some cloth peeking out from behind the broken rock. Pulling on it he sees the dress and shoes tucked neatly inside his hiding place. 

    "No helping it then." He mutters out more for himself than anything. The anxiety is still there but now there's also something disconcerting and unexpected that he feels but doesn't want to acknowledge. The boots could be traded , the dress was of a good material for bandages if he cut it properly. For the moment he tucks the bundle back into the small crevice, this time hiding it properly. The silence present as he feeds the animals isn't pleasant but he'll get used to it again. Except it's not really silence, most of the animals are whining anxiously. Kite walks all around the sewer before he realizes Kiri is also gone.   
    There's not enough information but now he's convinced of it. Something clearly happened and it involves (F/n) and Kiri. A short low whistle and the long eared beagle is next to Kite in seconds wagging his tail. He goes back to the hiding spot and takes out the dress holding it level with the dog's nose to let him understand. Right away Hito turns and starts trotting out the hidden waterway leaving Kite to follow. 

    Hito and him enter the forest at once, but walk pass the trail to the waterfall where she washed. As he follows Hito, Kite also looks around for any sign of (F/n) or Kiri. Near the grove Hito raises his head up sharply and takes off into a run. The unease in his chest sharpens into anxiety but he follows Hito now scared of what he'll find.   
    Torn up flesh and blood are something that he is vaguely familiar with, but he can't properly conjure up an image of a bloodied (F/n). Instead he keeps running after Hito and hopes that whatever he finds isn't too shocking for him to handle. 

    Pass the grove and near the ravine he finally spots Kiri pacing up and down the edge. Occasionally barking at the sky where a couple vultures circle the bottom. In no time he leaves Hito behind and stops just short of falling down the ravine. He expects puddles of blood and a frozen scream in a terrified face. Instead Kite sees (F/n) in her old uniform from the bath house curled into a ball at the bottom of the ravine. He almost lets out a relieved sigh but then he remembers that if she has no pulse then she's as good as gone. 

 

~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~``~

 

    The temperature fluctuates between hot and cold. One second she's shivering and about an hour past she's sweating. Time flies then slows, leaving her to wonder if death truly does alter one's sense of time. Perhaps she's already dead and her consciousness is in purgatory. It matches what the older girls at the bathhouse liked to say about death.   
    Cold gel is pressed on her back and she shivers. She hears the apology muttered and it somewhat shocks her awake. Not the quick words, but the voice that utters them makes her twitch and gasp. He shouldn't he here, dead and with her where ever she was. Or she shouldn't be there at the sewer again, either or. 

    Prying her eyes open and trying to shift herself up takes effort. Once she's promptly pushed down again by a sturdy hand she decides it's not worth it and settles back into a fitful slumber. At least she knows that not only did she fail to die but she must've caused trouble for Kite too. 

 

    Kiri's nose is inches away from her face when she finally wakes up properly. She snuggles deeper into blankets to avoid the ghastly dog breath but Kiri retaliates by licking her hand. Finally she rises to a sitting position and turns to glare at the dog. It's halfhearted and quickly morphs into a smile. She reaches over and scratches Kiri behind the ears. There's still a faint sting in her back but she feels much better than before. 

 

    He prepared an entire lecture for that occasion. After all, he had a whole day and a half while she rested to do so. Words and angry questions had floated around his head as he tended to her infected wounds; and there were plenty of things he could say to her at that moment. Plenty of things he wanted to say. Instead he reached over for the lukewarm soup he cooked and poured a bowl for her. 

    "Here." He met her eyes once before looking down at her hands. "Can you eat or do I need to feed you." The chipped bowl was taken from his hands. She should've told him. If she was sick she should've told him, but he understood why she didn't. Well not really no, he didn't quite understand, because his motivation and goal was the opposite of her. Kite always focused on surviving. No matter the situation he always focused on how to survive it and get through it. So he didn't quite understand why she would give up so quickly when a couple of plants from the forest and fresh clean water were all that was needed for her to live. He wanted to ask her, because surely there was another reason why. But he kept his mouth shut, still searching for the proper words. Though Kite's never been good with proper words or expressing himself. So what tumbles out of his mouth isn't quite what he wanted to say.  

 

    "That was a real pain you know." She wants to stop eating and listen, but the spoon moves automatically. "Kiri never left your side. Even when you were unconscious in the ravine. So I had to climb down and climb back up with you on my back." If it was so annoying he should've just left her. "Then the others crowded around while I cleaned your wounds and stitched you up. For the whole time you were out they never left your side." Finally the spoon stops moving. Her tongue darts out and licks at the corner of her lip. It was already too late. 

    "I'm sorry," and thank you. The words catch in her throat when Kite finally turns to look at her. His eyes sharp and angry. 

    "If you're truly sorry don't ever do it again." It's as close to yelling as he had ever gotten and she clutches the bowl. Just as she suspected, it was too late for her to try and sever the growing bond between them. She lifts up the bowl and gulps the rest down. She doesn't see him raise his eyebrows at her as she does. Putting the bowl to the side she stretches out her arms. 

    "I won't. Thank you Kite!" She half crawls half trips into him as she throws her arms around him. He doesn't push her away. Instead a hand awkwardly pets her head before she decided to spare him. Pulling away from him she stares openly at him. Kite's busy putting away the chipped bowl and bent spoon and reaching back into the little crevice to pull out a familiar bundle of cloth. 

    "Altering this was a real pain. Well it should fit though." With a new perspective came a newfound understanding. What a pain, it's a pain, a real pain, and all the other variations didn't usually mean that. It was like that phrase the girls liked to use. Reading between the lines. A smile started to spread as she took hold of the dress, it had been modified into a halter type dress probably done so in consideration of her current state. The stitches were even and steady, much better than she would have expected. Nonetheless she wanted to play a little trick. 

    "Please tell me you did a better job on my back than this." Poor Kite looked mortified for a second before he caught sight of her smirk. "I'm just teasing. Thank you Kite!" Maybe it was having recovered, or maybe she was still delirious either way she leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Who would have thought that Kite could turn bright red? Teasing him would definitely come naturally.


End file.
